The Adventures of Gwendolyn Potter
by Joseibi Tsukino Saotome
Summary: Ok, I admit. I'm a sucker for Next Generation things. :P This is the story of the children of Harry, Ron, Hermione, etc, etc. I know, it's a very original title, isn't it? :P Anyway, disregard all the Jennifer Lopez stuff. I was listening to that CD


The Adventures of Gwendolyn Potter  
Gwendolyn Potter and the State of Nothingness  
By Joseibi  
  
"Mom! I'm going outside! I'll be back for dinner!" Gwendolyn Potter said as she grabbed her broomstick. Gwen was an average ten-year-old living in the everyday world-Except for one small detail, her mother was a half-blooded witch, her father was a full-blooded wizard, and that made her a full-blooded witch.   
"Don't forget your wand!" Her mother, Serena, yelled from in the kitchen.   
"And take Annamika with you!" Her father, Harry Potter, the wizard who defeated the evil Voldemort years ago, told his daughter.  
"Oh right!" Gwen said as she grabbed her wand and her owl, Annamika's, cage. She dashed out the door, laughing excitedly. She expected a simple day of play and merry-making. She expected to fly around on her broomstick and practice her skills as a Beater for the Quidditch team she planned to try out for when she got to school.   
She searched around for a nice and firm stick. "Aha! Here we go!" she said, when she found the perfect stick and picked it up. "Umm...now...what was that spell again? Oh yeah! Sticktabat!" She said as she tapped the piece of wood with her wand. The stick turned into a baseball bat. She looked around and found a spherical rock. "Bludgerrockus!" She yelled as she tapped the rock with her wand. The rock turned into a Bludger, the type of ball that the Beaters had to keep from hitting their players. She hopped on her broom and kicked off the ground and into the air. Annamika flew up to her. "No, Annamika, stay in your cage, you might get hit by the Bludger!" Annamika looked disappointed, and flew back down. Gwen realized something, "Wait! Annamika! Come back! It would be good practice to try and keep the Bludger away from you!" Annamika cheered right up and began to fly around with the Bludger. The ball headed straight for the owl that screeched loudly. "YAAAAAAAHHH!" Gwen yelled, very unlady-like as she struck the ball away from her pet with the bat she turned the stick into. This continued for about a half-hour until Gwen realized that the Beater had to work with two balls. There was also supposed to be two Beaters, but she didn't think of that. She landed on the ground and turned another rock into a Bludger. They both flew around wildly as Gwen tried hard to keep them away from Annamika. One of the Bludgers was headed straight toward Annamika, so Gwendolyn, quite confidently, flew over to smack it away. But just as she whacked the Bludger away, the other Bludger came kareeming toward Gwen from the back. "AAAHHHCCCKK!" Gwen yelled as the Bludger hit her back with a sharp crack. Gwen fell off of her broom, which fell with her. Annamika flew quickly down to her master. She was unconscious.   
Gwen's eyes opened slowly as Annamika, startled, hopped off of her chest. "Wh-Where am I?" Gwen asked as she looked around in the tiny cottage she was in.   
"You're in my house!" A strange voice came from the kitchen-like area of the cottage.   
"Who are you?" Gwen asked quizzically.  
"I'm Carmine Weasely! I found you unconscious outside! Your back was broken! Are you okay now?"  
"Yeah Fine...did you say...Carmine Weasely???" Gwen remembered her father telling her about his old friends at Hogwarts, Hermione Granger and Ron Weasely.   
"Yes, Carmine Weasely!" Carmine said as he began to wonder if her head had been damaged also.  
"Is your father...Ron Weasely?" Gwen asked him, wonderingly.  
"Yes! He is! And my mother is Hermione Weasely!" Carmine said, happily.  
"HERMIONE...WEASELY????" Gwen yelled in confusion.  
"Yes...is there something wrong with my mother's name?"  
"No, it's just...do you remember a Harry Potter?"  
"Yes! Defeated Lord Voldemort, he did! Good friend of my father and mother's! Haven't seen him in awhile though, shame it is..."  
"Harry Potter...is my father..." Gwen explained.  
"Really? Wow, imagine that! I find the daughter of my parents' best friends unconscious outside on the grass!"  
"Where am I? What country is this?"  
"England, my dear!"  
"England? You mean we've lived close to each other all this time and never even known it?"  
"'Guess so!"  
"Wow! Wicked Cool!"  
Gwendolyn jumped off the cot she was lying on.  
"I'm Gwendolyn Potter! Nice to meet you, Carmine!"  
"Pleasure, m'lady!"  
He's so polite! It's almost sickening! Gwen thought to herself as she watched Hermione make breakfast. Carmine had turned on the television and was watching some cartoon. Annamika was asleep in a cage.   
"It's so nice to have a relative of Harry with us!" Hermione said as she handed Gwen a plate of eggs, toast, and potato wedges.  
"Yeah, maybe I could bring him here sometime! And my mom!" Gwen replied, taking the orange juice that was being handed to her.  
"It would be so nice to see them both again..." Hermione said, her voice trailing off as she went into a train of thought about her adventure-filled past with her husband and her best friends. She snapped out of it as Carmine jumped up onto Gwen's bed.   
"Tell me about your family!" He said, looking interested.  
"Well...you know most about my father...My mother is a half-blood named Serena. I have an Aunt named Erin on my mother's side who is also a half-blood... That's...about it!"  
"Wow..."  
"It's not that great..."  
"Where'd your mom come from?"  
"Japan, but she came to England to go to Hogwarts."  
"Japan! Wow!"  
"Yeah, kinda..." She thought about all the times her mother had gotten mad at her and started yelling in Japanese. She had no idea what her mother was saying. But, 'baka', she was beginning to understand, meant 'fool'. That was something her mother used a lot, but Gwen never thought anything of it. But at this moment, it occurred to her. I'm really am a...baka...I overestimated myself...And if it weren't for Carmine, then I'd be lying in the grass with a broken back. I'm such an idiot...   
"Gwendolyn?" Carmine asked, realizing that Gwen was looking shamed.  
"Uh? Oh! Nothing...nothing..."  
"Ok, well, would you like to go outside?"  
"Sure!"  
The two sorcerers walked out the door.  
They brought the Bludgers and the bat over to Carmine's yard. They found a stick and made a bat for Carmine to use. He borrowed his father's broom. They were batting the Bludgers around when all-of-the-sudden, one of the Bludgers missed Gwen's bat and hit her in the stomach. She plunged toward the ground and landed with a thud.  
"Gwen! Gwen, are you okay?" Carmine asked, his voice cracking with worry.  
"Ba...ka..." Gwen said as she fell unconscious.   
"Baka?" Carmine muttered to himself as he carried Gwen to his house.  
"My god! Carmine! What happened to this poor girl, this time?" Ron asked with astonishment at the bloody mess his son was carrying.  
"She got hit-"  
"Well, we know that! Let me fix her up again!" Hermione said as she grabbed her wand, "Healiosa!" She yelled, vigorously, as she tapped Gwen lightly with her wand. Gwen's wounds cleared and she was back to normal.  
"Now you have to wait for her to wake up!" Ron said, scolding his son.  
"Yes, Papa..." Carmine replied, looking down at the floor.  
Both of Carmine's parents walked outside. Carmine sat with his head down on the side of Gwen's bed.   
"I'm such a fool..." he muttered to himself.  
"Ba..ka.." Gwen whispered, weakly.  
"Huh?" Carmine said, startled, "What's that?"  
"Ba..ka...Baka...I'm..such..a...freakin'...baka..." She swore.  
"What does baka mean?"  
That was when Gwen went into hysterics. She cried wildly as she threw her arms around Carmine who tried nervously to calm her down.  
"It means fool! I'm a fool! I'm an idiot! I'm stupid! HUAAH!!!" Gwen sobbed as she cried and wailed in Carmine's arms.  
"C-c-calm down! It's ok! Calm...Ca-ca-calm down! Please...s-s-stop that! No get off of me! Ow! That hurts! Quit it! Ouch! Expelliarmus!"  
Gwen went flying across the room.   
"Ok, ow! No, no, wait...I needed that..." Gwen said...  
"Sorry, I couldn't breathe!"  
"'Salright...'Salright...I'm f-fine..I...think..."  
"That was..."  
"Surreal..."  
"Yeah...exactly..."  
"Sorry for being abnormal...I'm like that sometimes..."  
"What is all of this noise??" Hermione asked, storming into the room.  
"Sorry Mum, Gwendolyn went into a crying fit, hadda snap 'er outta it!" Carmine explained.  
"Ok..." She answered as she walked back outside.  
Gwen and Carmine's conversation came to a long, boring lull. Two letters appeared and fell onto the children's heads.   
"AY!" Gwen yelled.  
"What the--!" Carmine screamed.  
The letters were addressed to:  
  
Gwendolyn Potter & Carmine Weasley  
Tiny Cottage In The Woods of Rural England  
Acceptance into Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry  
  
Both the kids jumped for joy as they read the letter over and over. In a week or two, they would be starting school at Hogwarts. They went out to tell Ron and Hermione who were working in the garden. They jumped into the car and left for Diagon Alley.  
"I really should call my parents..." Gwen said as she licked her ice cream cone.  
"Yeah, you should..." Carmine agreed.  
Gwen found a payphone in a Muggle store of Diagon Alley. She put in a Knut and began to dial her parents' number.  
"Hi, Mom?"   
"Hello honey! Where are you?"  
"I'm in Diagon Alley! I was accepted into Hogwarts!"  
"That's great! Where have you been all this time?"  
"Oh yeah, Carmine Weasley found me! I got hit with a Bludger, and well...it's a long story..."  
"Oh, Gwen...you're such a Baka...Carmine..Weasley??"  
"Yes! Ron and Hermione got married!"  
"Really!?"  
"Yeah! I was surprised too! Will you and Dad meet Hermione, Ron, Carmine, and me at the train station?"  
"Yes, of course!"  
Gwen and Carmine finished shopping and got in the car for home.  
They waited impatiently for September 1st to come so that they could meet Gwen's parents and go to school.   
The sacred date finally came, and Gwen and Carmine excitedly jumped into the car. Ron and Hermione followed. They arrived at the train station and saw Harry and Serena standing there, waiting for them. Their eyes met, and there was a long period of hugs and greetings.   
The time came for Gwen and Carmine to get on the train. Gwen grabbed her trunk full of supplies and Annamika's cage and ran toward the wall, Carmine trailing not far behind her.   
They boarded the train. All alone in the car they entered, was a little girl with pigtails. Her hair was pink, and she was very pretty. She had bangs that were parted in the middle, as her hair was.   
"Hello! My name is Natasha Ferrywell! I'm glad someone finally came on this car!" She said, happily.  
"Why doesn't anyone seem to want to come on this car?" Gwen asked, sitting down next to the beautiful girl.  
"I don't know. Usually when I go somewhere to meet new people, they like me at first, but then they don't like me once they find out what I'm like."  
"I guess looks aren't everything..." Said Carmine as he looked her over. She blushed.  
"Well...I'm Carmine Weasley!" Carmine said.  
"I'm Gwendolyn Potter!" Gwen introduced herself.  
They spent a couple minutes getting to know each other. I don't know what people don't like about her! She seems perfectly fine to me! Gwen thought as she listened to all the interesting things Natasha talked about.   
They all looked out the window as they passed a bunch of interesting buildings and factories.   
The train whistle went off that signaled that they had arrived at Hogwarts. The officer outside of the train blew his whistle as he directed the kids. Natasha flinched slightly at the sound of the whistle and took a swing at Carmine. POW   
"AH! Ow! My nose!" Carmine yelled as Natasha snapped out of it.  
"Oh my god! What happened, Carmine??" She asked.  
"You punched me!" Carmine screamed, agitated.  
"No...I didn't!"  
"Wait...the whistle went off and she hit you..." Gwen realized, "It's like a Muggle cartoon I saw once! That must be why no one wants to be around Natasha! She throws a punch every time she hears a whistle!"  
"Does this mean you guys don't like me anymore?" Natasha said, trying to hold in tears.  
"No, No! Of course not, Natasha!" Gwen said, trying to comfort her.  
"She's gonna be a painful friend to have, Gwen..." Carmine said, caressing his nose.  
"Well, we'll just have to keep her away from whistles! And besides, getting hit a couple times might toughen you up!" Gwen said in a coaching tone.  
Carmine blushed.  
"And even if there is a whistle when we're with Natasha, it will help our reflexes to learn to dodge her punches!" She continued.  
"Gee, I sure am causing a lot of trouble to you guys..." Natasha said.  
"No, No! Goodness no! You're a perfectly charming girl! Everyone has flaws, and so far, that's the only one I've seen in you!"  
"Are you sure you guys don't mind? I'm not even aware that I'm doing that..."  
"Nope! Not at all! I'm determined to befriend you, Natasha! It's a perfect plan! I'll gain a great friend, brush up on my reflexes for when I become the Beater for my house's Quidditch team," she gave a sly smile, "and I'll be as tough as a rail! Because, you know, Quidditch is a very dangerous sport..."  
Carmine and Natasha stared at her.  
"You get the idea that I really want to be a Beater, right?"  
They both shook their heads in unison.  
"Good!" Gwen said, returning to her perpetually cheery self.  
"First years over this way!" An obese man said as he directed the first years into the large room with the ceiling of stars.   
"Who are you?" Gwen asked the man as he kept directing.  
"My name's Neville Longbottom. Hagrid, the old gamekeeper here, went off to raise dragons like he's always wanted to. So I took his place. Now, into the ceremony you go!"  
The ceremony began as the teachers gathered into the massive room. A very important-looking woman strolled in, and everyone grew quiet.   
"I," she began, "Am the school's new Headmaster. Dumbledore has gone off to an old-folk's home where he is treated with well-deserved respect. I am Professor Norwood, and I know I will not be able to be as great as Dumbledore was, but I promise I will try my best. Now, let me introduce the teachers to you.   
Karen Shibbet is the new teacher of Potions and leader of the Slytherin house.  
Martin Loidery is the new Transfiguration teacher and leader of the Gryffindor house.  
Caleb Danderoy is our new nurse."  
Some people let out small giggles at the male nurse. Carmine nudged Gwen, who was struggling not to laugh, hard in the arm.  
"Ow! Quit it!" Gwen whispered.  
Professor Norwood went on talking about all of the teachers. Natasha was almost asleep until Professor Norwood yelled out, "Let the sorting begin!"  
The Sorting Hat was brought out.  
"Gary Coleman!" Danderoy said as the first child stepped up.  
The kids waited impatiently, wondering what house they would be in.  
"Gwendolyn Potter!"  
The crowd hushed at the mention of the last name 'Potter.'  
Let me see...yes, you are very aggressive for you age... The Hat said to Gwen as she waited impatiently for it to yell out the house she'd be in.  
Who cares, just put me somewhere that I can be on the Quidditch team! Gwen thought.  
Quidditch, eh? I'd say you'd make a good Beater with your attitude!   
How'd you know I wanted to be a Beater??  
I have my ways...now...the matter of your house...Ah, I see your father was the famous Harry Potter. Your mother was a Muggle telepathic? A Half-blood, eh? Well...well...let me see...hmmmm...this is a toughy...Gwendolyn you'd be great for...  
"Gryffindor!" The Hat yelled out.  
Gwendolyn went to sit at the Gryffindor table, waiting for her friends.   
"Carmine Weasley!" Danderoy cried.  
"Gryffindor!" The Hat said as soon as Carmine put it on.  
"Natasha Ferrywell!"  
Natasha stepped up, nervously.   
The Hat let out a small snicker.   
What are you laughing at? Natasha asked the Hat, her voice shaking.  
Oh, nothing. It just occurs to me that you have a certain problem with bells? You throw punches at the sound of them?  
You're creeping me out...  
Don't be scared Ms. Ferrywell. You'll be best in Gryffindor with your friends.  
Gryffindor? But, I'm not brave or smart or heroic! That's what you have to be to be in Gryffindor, right?  
That's right, but you don't know that you're brave or smart or heroic until you prove it to yourself. Ms. Potter and Mr. Weasley are the only ones that you've met in your entire life that didn't care about your problem and saw you for who you were. You need these friends of yours to be brave, smart, and heroic. You have those qualities inside of you, you just haven't let them out yet. Those friends will be the ones who help you release it.  
If you say so...  
Oh, and that problem of yours! That will come in handy one of these days!  
I seriously doubt it, but thanks...  
"Gryffindor!" The Hat shouted.  
Natasha sighed and walked over to the Gryffindor table. Gwendolyn jumped up and hugged her tightly around the neck.   
"Yay! I'm so happy! We're in the same house!"  
Natasha was shocked.   
"I...uh..." She mumbled.  
"What is it, Nat?" Carmine asked.  
"You guys are my friends, right?" She asked, ignoring Carmine's question.  
"Of course!" Gwen and Carmine yelled in unison.  
"Thanks, you guys..." Natasha said, nearing tears.  
Gwen and Carmine smiled happily as the rest of the children were sorted into houses. Once the sorting was finished, the feast began. Loidery stepped up to the edge of the table as all the kids began to eat. He obviously wanted to say something, but no one would quiet down to let him talk. He pulled out a bell. Gwen realized this and stood up.  
"Wait!" She cried. Everyone was silent. "Don't...ring that bell..." It was too late. Loidery had already rung the bell and Natasha had already taken a swing. She had hit the boy sitting across the table from her.   
"I did it again!" She yelled as she ran over to him.  
"Ms. Ferrywell, I presume?" Loidery said as he approached the scene.  
"Er...yes...How'd you-"  
"Professor Norwood warned all the teachers about you."  
"God, it's that bad? They have to be warned?"  
"Oh, it's not that bad. I'm sorry about the bell. I suppose I forgot."  
"Don't apologize to me! Apologize to him!" She pointed at the boy on the floor.   
"Ummm...Sorry Mr.-"  
"Malfoy. My name is Jacob Malfoy." He said, getting up off the ground.  
"Malf-f-f-foy!!!???" Gwen yelled, jumping up from her seat.  
"Please don't judge me by my father's behavior, because as you can see I'm in Gryffindor. I would've been in Slytherin if I were anything like him." He looked up at Gwen who had a shocked look in her eyes.  
"'S'pose you're right..." Gwen said.  
Jacob looked over in Gwen's direction. There was a slight twang in Gwen's chest as their eyes met.  
"Oh my...God..." Natasha said as she realized what had happened.  
"Could...this...be...love..." Gwen sang in a low whisper (Author's footnote: "Could This Be Love" is a song from Jennifer Lopez's CD "On The Six," and I was listening to it as I was writing this part, so that's why she sang...=^_^=).  
"May...be..." Jacob answered.  
Everyone stared at him.  
"Uh! Maybe...Maybe...Maybe I should get back into my seat now!" He quickly covered.  
Everyone was still watching as he shuffled back into his seat.  
"That was...surreal..." Carmine said, still staring.  
"I think he likes you." Natasha pointed out, turning her head toward Gwen.  
"No crap!" Gwen yelled, trying to be her tough self, but she just couldn't.  
Me and my father's archenemy's son, together. I wonder what Dad's gonna say... Gwen thought as she smiled wryly.  
The feast ended as all the Gryffindors headed toward their house to unpack. Gwen and Natasha went up to the girls' dorms as they said goodbye to Carmine and Jacob, who only stared at Gwen until she disappeared through a door.  
The girls talked and giggled as they quickly unpacked all of their supplies. Gwen took out her broom.  
"You're not allowed to have that. First years aren't allowed their own broom."  
"I know, but my dad wrote to Hogwarts saying that if I was accepted, he wanted me to play as a Beater, so they let me get one so I could practice."  
"You really want to be a Beater, don't you!"  
"Yeah! It's always been a dream of mine!"  
"Well, it looks like your owl wants to come out of its cage for awhile!"  
"Oh! Come on now, Annamika!" Gwen said as she gingerly pulled the bird out of her cage."  
"Annamika. That's a very nice name!"  
"Yeah, it means the Moon and Stars. And my name means Goddess of the Moon, so I thought I'd make it into a theme!"  
"That's cute!"  
"Yeah, and my Grandma's name was Selene, which also means Moon!"  
"Oh! So you were sort of named after your Grandmother?"  
"Yeah, my family on my mom's side always liked names that had to do with the Moon."  
"If you have a daughter, what are you going to name her?"  
"Hehe! Kind of early to think about that?"  
"I was just wondering!"  
"Probably Selena. It's another name that means Moon."  
"Cool..."  
"Or maybe Luna...that's pretty...it also means-"  
"I know, I know! Moon! If I had a daughter, I'd name her Katherine. It means pure."  
"Oh! That's so sweet! Purity! You could name her Purity!"  
"Yeah! Purity! Such a pretty name!"  
"Isn't it?"  
"Thanks!"  
They continued to think of names for their daughters when they grew up. They finished unpacking and went downstairs to the Common Room. Gwen was carrying her boom box and a CD case. She plugged it in and yelled, "It's time to PAAARTAAAY!" Everyone cheered as she popped in a CD. She grabbed hold of Carmine and Natasha, and they all danced. Gwen noticed Jacob sitting all alone in a chair. She walked up to him.  
"Wanna dance?" She asked.  
"I don't dance..." He replied, avoiding eye contact.  
"'Course you do! Everyone dances!"  
"What? No, really, I-" But Gwen had already dragged him into the middle of the room. They were both out on the floor, moving as best as they could.   
  
Baila, so come on baby, Baila  
Heeeyy break all the rules! Come on baby, me and you!   
  
The radio played the song as Gwen tried to get Jacob to dance.  
"What's Baila mean?" Jacob asked.  
"Dance." Gwen replied.  
"Appropriate, I guess..."  
"Yep."  
  
Let's get loud! Let's get loud! Turn the music up, to hear that sound!  
  
"Let's get loud! Let's get loud! Ain't nobody gotta tell ya! Whatcha gonna do, no no!" Gwen sang along as Carmine and Natasha giggled.  
"Life is meant to be big fun, you're not hurting anyone! Nobody loses! Let the music make you free, be what you wanna be! Make no excuses!" She continued. Her dance began to jazz up a bit. Her smile dazzled as she danced, not realizing that everyone had gathered around her in a circle. The song ended, and Gwen finally snapped out of it.   
"Gwen, come here a minute. I need to speak to you." Loidery said as he took her by the arm.  
Oh my God! I'm in trouble! Did I break something? Did I hit someone? What happened? What did I do? Is he going to forbid me from playing Quidditch? Oh no! She thought as Loidery sat down.  
"We've been looking for an entertainer for our ceremonies, parties, feasts, etc..." He said, finally.  
"And..."  
"And you seem to have some very useful talents."  
Gwen blushed.  
"Are you sure?"  
"You can dance. You can sing. What else do you do?"  
"Ummm...I can play Quidditch..."  
"What position?"  
"Beater, hopefully."  
"We can talk to Carl about that. Carl Tonnisen is the new captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team and we need one more Beater. It's funny, because I always thought you'd end up being a Seeker when you came here ever since the news of your birth was brought here to us..."  
"Seeker? Because my dad was?"  
"Yes."  
"Oh."  
"So, can you sing anything else?"  
"I can sing in Japanese."  
"What can you sing?"  
"A few lines."  
"Hmmm...anything else?"  
"Spanish, maybe a whole song. I have the Jennifer Lopez CD..."  
"That's true. The kids would enjoy that."  
"Ummm...German, but those songs are probably not party-like..."  
"Fine, fine, go on..."  
"That's all the languages I can sing in, I think."  
"That's ok. Do you know any full songs that the kids would enjoy?"  
"Ummm...I know 'Baila,' the one I was singing out there. And 'Let's Get Loud,' 'Una Noche Mas,'..."  
"Una Noche Mas?"  
"Yeah. It's 'Waiting for Tonight' in Spanish."  
"Perfect!"  
"Perfect?"  
"Yes! Just pick any songs you like out of your CDs and we'll come for you when we need you to perform!"  
"O-O-Ok!"  
"Right then, you can go back to the party you started without my permission, Gwendolyn..."  
"S-s-sorry about that, sir..."  
"It's ok, I was a kid once...Now go on!"  
"Right, sir!"  
Gwen ran out of the room and back to her party. Carmine and Natasha were all over her. Jacob was just sitting silently in his chair, once again.   
"What'd he say, What'd he say?" Natasha yelled in Gwen's face.  
"I want it to be a surprise! Don't ask me!" She said, trying not to smile so widely.  
In the corner of the room, Leena Ricos was scowling at Gwen. Leena Ricos was a good person, but the one thing she hated what losing. She had heard the whole conversation between Professor Loidery and Gwen, and she felt horrible.  
I can sing higher than anyone can in this room, probably. And I have a beautiful voice! She thought to herself. I guess it figures that the only one who can sing higher than Serena Potter is Serena Potter's daughter...  
When the party finally ended, it was 12:00 midnight. Gwen sighed deeply as she got into her nightclothes. A few minutes passed and Natasha showed up in the dorm room they shared.   
"Wow! Gwen, you really started a party out there! What a blast! Anyway, I'm beat!" She said as she pulled off articles of clothing, "And you were great out there! 'Baila! So come on, baby, Baila! Eeeehh, break all the rules! Come on baby, me and you!'" She imitated. Gwen just smiled an embarrassed smile as she pulled her nightgown over her head. She hopped under the covers and turned out the light.  
"G'night Nat!" Gwen said, happily, "I'm glad you're in my house!"  
"G'night Gwen! It wouldn't be the same without you!" Natasha said. Her voice trailed off as they both fell immediately to sleep.   
Natasha woke up at 3:00 in the morning because she had had a horrible dream that she just couldn't shake off, no matter how hard she tried. It played over and over in her mind, torturing her until she broke a sweat.  
Natasha! The Dream Gwendolyn yelled from across the yard.  
Hey, Nat! Are you there? The Dream Carmine added.  
The dream image of her self ran across the forest to get to her friends, but as she was running, smiling and giggling with joy, a big black dog grabbed the bottom of her flares and she went flying. She hit the ground; that's when she woke up. She tried to get back to sleep, but the image of the black dog scared her even more than the time when she accidentally hit her father's boss when someone blew a whistle outside.  
Maybe it's an omen... She thought, Maybe the Sorting Hat was wrong and I shouldn't be in this house, after all. Look at me! I had a stupid dream and I'm sweating like I just ran the length of the Great Wall of China 46 times! Well, the hat said that Gwen and Carmine could help me bring out my bravery...so...  
She quietly approached Gwen's bed and tapped her lightly on the shoulder. Gwen's eyes twitched slightly as she rolled over.  
"Gwen..." Natasha whispered, "Gwendolyn Anne Potter...wake up..."  
"Nooooooooo!!!!!!!" Gwen yelled as she jumped up from bed, sweating like a hog.   
"What is it?" Natasha asked, startled.  
"I had a very disturbing dream!"  
"About what?"  
"Carmine and I were playing some stupid game and asking you to come play. Then you came running toward us, and a big black dog attacked you!"  
Natasha's whole body shook as she replied, "I-I-I had that same...dream...Gwen..."  
Both girls exchanged blinks for a few seconds until they both started screaming their lungs out.   
"What?? What is it?? Where's the fire?? AHHHH!" Carmine yelled as he burst through the door.  
Gwen was in tears as Carmine was trying to get an answer out of one of them. Natasha was in such a big hysteria that she started hitting Carmine with her pillow.   
"Ow! Ow, god! Quit it! AH! Cut it out, Nata-HEY!! OW! Oh, jeez, this is what I get from befriending two girls!"  
At this, the two girls stopped for a second. Then they both started hitting Carmine with their pillows.   
"STOP THAAAAT!" Carmine yelled out.  
Both girls stopped.  
"That's better...now, why were you screaming?"  
"We both had the same really creepy dream..." Gwen said, sheepishly.  
"Well, you're lucky Loidery didn't wake up...I'm not even sure about that..."  
"Yeah, that's true...I guess screaming wasn't the best solution, eh?" Natasha realized.  
"Aiyiyiyiyi..." Gwen said, right before saying a bunch of stuff in Japanese.  
"Gwen!" Carmine yelled.  
"Nani? I mean...What?" Gwen asked, stopping her long string of Japanese.  
"Well, sometimes I like to think out loud, but if I don't want my thoughts to be understood, I just speak in Japanese so no one can understand me..."  
"My Japanese vocabulary consists of 'Baka' and 'Nani' as of now..." Carmine realized.  
"My Japanese vocabulary consists of...umm...nothing..." Natasha said.  
"What was the big horrible dream you two had?" Carmine asked, changing the subject.  
"Well..." Gwen started, before, once again, saying a bunch of things in Japanese.  
"ENGLISH PLEASE!" Natasha and Carmine both yelled at once.  
"I didn't even know I could speak Japanese...My mom used to always yell at me in Japanese so I didn't understand, but I think I caught on..." Gwen said, thinking out loud in English this time.  
"Just tell us the dream in English this time...please..."  
Gwen and Natasha explained the whole big scene to poor Carmine who sat there, pondering what it all could mean.   
"Ok, black dog, sign of death..." Carmine said, "The Grim, probably..."  
Gwen let out a small whimper as Carmine continued to put things together.  
"Ummm...I don't know...I'm stumped..."  
"Maybe my mom would know..." Gwen wondered as she picked up a small sheet of parchment.  
  
Dear Mom,  
Hi. I had a very weird dream. My new friend, Natasha, had the same dream. Maybe you can help us? Well, Carmine and I were playing a game and asking Natasha to come play with us. On her way over, she was attacked by a black dog. Can you explain?  
Love,  
'Goddess of the Moon'  
  
"That'll do..." Gwen said as she handed the note to Annamika, "Good luck, girl!"  
The owl flew out the window, carrying the letter in her claws. "Well, that's done. I guess we just wait for an answer," she said. She turned her head toward Carmine, "Now get out so we can get dressed..." Carmine blushed and waited outside for them.  
Gwen came out in a shirt that said 'BEATER' in big, red letters on the front.  
"Why do I get the feeling that you didn't just pull that shirt out randomly?" Carmine asked, not really expecting an answer back.  
"Because I didn't! I want to signal to Carl Tonnisen that I'm psyched to become the Beater for our team!" Gwen replied.  
Carmine just nodded his head.   
They had Potions with Professor Shibbet first. She was showing them how to make a Potion that made something change colors. Gwen changed the color of her 'BEATER' to yellow so it would be more noticeable.   
"Should I dye my hair pink like Natasha's?" She asked Carmine.  
"No, I like it better blonde..." He replied.  
"Just wonderin'..."   
"Alrighty guys! See you tomorrow! Great job on your potions everyone! Especially you, Ms. Potter! Personally, I like the yellow better than the red!" Shibbet said as she waved everyone out of the classroom.  
"Teacher's pet..." Leena Ricos mumbled to herself as she watched Gwen walk down the hall, talking with her friends. They were off to pick up their mail. Annamika flew right into Gwen's arms, landing her on the floor.   
"Whoa girl!" She said as she got back into her seat, "Now what have we here?" She pulled a note from the bird's beak.   
  
Dear Gwendolyn,  
I don't know what to tell you. The black dog is definitely the Grim, but I don't know about the dream. I don't want to scare you or your friends, but it may be a sign of death for your friend, Natasha. I'm sorry, honey...I'll see you later then, ok? If it will help, I can tell you to watch your friend. Be careful, ok? Well, your father needs my help with something. I hope you like what your father sent you! I hope Annamika was able to carry both the letter and the package all right! Mata ne, honey!"  
Love,  
'Calm and Serene' AKA 'Mommy'  
  
"Package?" Gwen asked. Annamika lifted up the package and handed it to Gwen. Gwen tore it open as Carmine and Natasha watched. She pulled out a silver-looking cloak.  
"What...is this?" Gwen asked. She looked up to reveal her friends' shocked looks.  
"Gwen your chest is gone!" Natasha yelled.  
Gwen looked down and saw that she was holding her father's invisibility cloak.  
"My god...he sent me...this? What, does he want me to sneak around school at night??" Gwen asked.  
"I don't think that's why he sent it to you. You might need it!" Natasha said.  
"Hey, Mutt!" A voice yelled from behind them all. They all turned around.  
"What did you say?" Natasha asked.  
"I said... 'Hey, Mutt!'..." It was Leena Ricos.  
"Mutt? Who?" Carmine asked.  
"Your little friend, Natasha..."  
"Whadd'ya mean, 'Mutt?'" Gwen asked, enraged by the insulting of her friend.  
"I mean...that she's a Mutt..."  
"But...why are you calling her Mutt?"  
"Because her mother was a freakin' Muggle!"  
"So?"  
"So she's a half-blood!"  
"So?" Carmine joined in.  
"So...So...She's not one of us!"  
"Yes she is..." Carmine said.  
"What are you talkin' 'bout, girl?" Gwen said in a bossy, ghetto-like tone.  
"Oh just forget it!" Leena stormed away enraged.  
The infamous trio burst out laughing.  
"Y'know? I don't know why we did that...but it was fun..." Gwen said.  
"You guys really care about me, don't you?" Natasha asked.  
"DUH!" Gwen and Carmine yelled at once.  
They continued to laugh at how they made Leena look like an idiot.  
They all went back to the Gryffindor Common Room. There was no one there.  
"I wonder where everyone went!" Natasha said, looking around for a sign of life somewhere in the room.  
"I don't know...maybe they all went outside for something..." Gwen said, also looking around.  
"There's no one out there!" Carmine yelled, looking out the window.  
"This is weird!" Natasha said, grabbing hold of Gwen's arm.  
"Hey! They're in their dorms! They've just got to be! We were kind of jam-packed with homework. Maybe they wanted a head start! That's got to be it!" Gwen said, getting frantic.  
"Gwen and I will go search the Girls' Dorms, you go search the Boys'!" Natasha ordered.  
"Don't make me go alone!" Carmine yelled.  
The girls glared at him, and he ran up the stairs to the Boys' Dorms. Gwen led the way toward the Girls' Dorms with Natasha following her. They walked up the stairs cautiously. They had been the last ones to get to the Common Room because of the fight they had had with Leena.   
"There's no one here..." Gwen said, returning to Natasha's side after searching one side of the Dorms, "Let's go see if Carmine's found anyone..." Natasha nodded her head. As they were walking down the stairs, Natasha stopped dead in her tracks.   
"What's the matter?" Gwen asked, turning around to see what happened to her friend.  
"I don't know. I have a weird feeling." Natasha said, her voice shaking violently.  
Gwen started to get worried. There was no one in the whole Gryffindor House, and Natasha couldn't move. What was next? Just then, Gwen realized something that scared her even more than the disappearance of the Gryffindor House. It was the disappearance of the couches in the Common Room!  
"Natasha! The couches! They're gone!" Gwen yelled, stuttering.   
"I can't look, Gwen! My head won't move!" Natasha screamed, struggling to move her neck. Slowly, her body started to fade.  
"NO! Natasha!" Gwen yelled, making a grab for her friend. She grabbed her, and Natasha stopped fading.   
"Let's go get Carmine and get out of here!" Gwen yelled.  
The girls dashed down the stairs and up to the Boys' Dorms. They found Carmine, and pulled him away without saying a single word.  
They ran out of the Common Room, which was now carpet-less. They were both gasping for air as they stood outside the Common Room.   
"What's going on???" Carmine yelled, frantically.  
"Everything in the Common Room is disappearing one-bye-one...All the people have disappeared. Natasha even started to disappear..." Gwen explained, her voice trembling as she tried to rack her brain to figure this out.  
"You saved my life..." Natasha said.  
"No, no. You don't know that...Even if you did disappear, we have no way of knowing if you had died. That means that everyone else that was in the Common Room might still be alive...somewhere..." Gwen said, her voice trailing away as she thought about where Jacob could have landed.   
"Well, whatever it is that's causing this has to be stopped!" Natasha said.  
"True...but how do we stop it if we don't even know what it is?" Carmine asked.  
"Wait a second...the only reason we haven't disappeared is because we were belated from the Common Room because of the fight with Leena. That means Leena must still be alive...unless she was stupid enough to stick around..." Gwen said.  
"That's true...where d'you think she'd be if she's still here?" Natasha said.  
"Yeah, maybe she knows something...we should find her..." Carmine realized.  
"Let's go find her..." Gwen confirmed the idea.  
They roamed the halls carefully watching each other to make sure no one was fading. They realized that there were no teachers either. Not every teacher was the leader of a House, so that meant that classrooms must have been cursed too.   
"ACK!" THUMP. Carmine had tripped on something. Both girls screamed, thinking he had disappeared, and they both grabbed one of his arms.  
"Ow...what the..." Carmine said as he massaged his scraped elbow. Natasha picked up the thing Carmine had tripped on. It was an open box. There was a tag attached to it.  
  
The State of Nothingness has been released  
The invisible animal will have its feast  
Though not really an animal, Nothingness be  
It can still devour an entire city   
Nothingness is something that cannot end  
Though there may be someone by whom the rules will bend  
The rules of Nothingness can be stopped  
But in order for this, all fear must be dropped  
Reading this now, you may understand  
That the rules of Nothingness will continue to stand  
To try and stop Nothingness, no one has dared  
There is no way anyone cannot be scared  
  
"Nothingness..." Gwen muttered, "We can't be scared...to recapture Nothingness, we can't be scared! But the stupid paper's right! There is no possible way that someone can just drop all their fears! There will always be a tiny shred of fear in them, no matter how brave they are!"  
The Hat...It said they'd help me bring out my bravery... Natasha was lost in thought as Gwen and Carmine were freaking out.  
"Alright guys...we have to try and be brave! Maybe that will bring us one step further!" Gwen yelled, finally. The three of them put on their most brave and daring faces ever, and started yelling threats.  
"We aren't afraid of you, Nothingness!"  
"Yeah! You big wuss!"  
"You'll n-n-never d-d-defeat...u-us..." Natasha tried as hard as she could.  
"You have to be braver then that, Natasha!" Gwen yelled.   
Natasha's eyelids slowly came to a slant and her eyes narrowed.  
"YOU'RE GOING DOWN, NOTHINGNESS!" She yelled, loud enough for Australia to hear.  
Another note appeared in the open box.  
  
Congratulations. Your fears have slimmed  
Many signs of worry have dimmed  
Now, what to do, I will tell  
I will give you a simple spell  
  
"A spell?? There's no spell!" Gwen started to gain all her fear back again.  
"No Gwen! We have to lose more of our fears to get another note!" Carmine yelled.  
"Yeah!" Natasha yelled, a big smile on her face, "COME ON OUT, NOTHINGNESS! YOU DON'T SCARE US! YAAAAAHOOOO! YEAH, BABY! COME ON! PUT 'EM UP! COME ON! WHAT, ARE YOU AFRAID OF A LITTLE GIRL IN PIGTAILS? HUH, HUH???" Natasha yelled even louder.  
Another note appeared.  
  
That girl of yours with the pink hair  
There's no trace of fear in her body there  
A true Gryffindor she has become  
To break the rules of Nothingness, she'll be the one  
  
"WHAT??" Gwen and Carmine yelled at once.  
Natasha was too busy threatening the Nothingness to even notice the note.  
"AAWW POOR BABY NOTHINGNESS AFRAID TO FIGHT? AFRAID YOU'LL BREAK A NAAAIL...AAWWW...COME AND GET ME!"  
Yet another note appears.  
  
Man, this girl sure has spunk  
If this was basketball, she's made a slam-dunk  
As I promised, I will tell  
The legendary Nothingness spell  
  
Nothingness, Nothingness   
We'll eat you for lunch  
All I need to do is  
Throw a ______  
  
You have the find out the last word.   
If you can't do it, how absurd  
For if this girl can do all that bunch  
It should be simple to throw a ______  
  
Natasha was still caught up. "YAAAAHHHHHH! YOU'RE GOING DOWN!"   
A black dog appeared in front of all three of them. Gwen and Carmine grabbed each other and tried not to scream. Natasha just leered and smiled. The dog lunged at Natasha. She didn't so much as flinch, but what she did do surprised everyone. Around the dog's neck, there was a tiny cowbell. Natasha took the paper and yelled out "NOTHINGNESS, NOTHINGNESS, WE'LL EAT YOU FOR LUNCH! ALL I NEED TO DO IS THROW A PUNCH!" Natasha heard the dog's bell as it came closer and closer to her, and she took the biggest swing she had ever taken. She hit the dog right smack in the nose. It went flying into the wall and disappeared.  
"It worked..." Gwen said, letting go of Carmine who was still trembling, "You did it! It worked! Natasha! Oh my god!"   
They all engulfed each other in a big hug.   
As they walked back to the Common Room, they shot each other satisfied smiles. They said the password to the Fat Lady who let them in. They walked into the Common Room to find all of their friends standing there.  
"Where've you guys been?"  
"We've been looking all over for you!"  
"What was the hold up?"  
Leena entered the Common Room right after.  
"Leena! What happened?"  
"Where did you go?"  
"Sorry, these three and I were having a discussion and we got held up..." Leena answered.  
Gwen, Natasha, and Carmine had shocked looks on their faces.  
"They don't remember anything! They don't remember disappearing!" Gwen whispered to Natasha.  
"Leena must remember! She never disappeared!" Carmine whispered back.  
Leena walked up to the trio.  
"What are you guys whispering about?" She asked them  
They were speechless. Leena leaned in closer as to whisper to them, "Guys, I know about the whole Nothingness thing... I saw the whole thing with you guys and the notes and the dog...Natasha, I'm sorry for disrespecting you like that..."  
"It's ok, Leena!" Natasha said, happily.  
"What I'd like to know is what caused that little dilemma?" Gwen asked.  
"I think it'd be safer not to know..." Natasha said.  
Right then, Carl Tonnisen entered the Common Room.   
"We have chosen the people to be on the Gryffindor Quidditch Team," He began. He read off names of all the people and their positions. "Gwendolyn Potter...Beater!" Gwen cheered loudly. "Natasha Ferrywell...Beater!" Natasha and Gwen hugged each other tightly. "Leena Ricos...Seeker!" Leena joined the hugging session.  
And so, our little group of Gryffindors had a normal year. Nobody thought much of the State of Nothingness anymore. They all figured it's best left a mystery. Deep in their hearts, they believed that one-day they would catch the filthy mongrel that set that pure state of hell upon them all.  
  
  



End file.
